When it comes to the festive season, not run up is complete with standing around the glow and colour that comes from the theatrical scenes you find in the Christmas windows of some of the larger retailers.
This year, Bombay Sapphire have decided to join in the fun as the brand unveils its inaugural holiday window display, celebrating the new artistic guard and New York City’s creative comeback. Taking inspiration from the traditional 5th Avenue holiday window displays, the gin brand’s display has a deeper purpose: to revitalize downtown Manhattan and to provide a platform for emerging creatives.
The Holiday Storefront Series will take place in SoHo through December 19th, in collaboration with visual artist Shavanté Royster, the disruptive fashion designer Romeo Hunte, and New York City dancer Nicole Von Arx.
Over the past year and a half, the pandemic has decimated the livelihood of creatives, small businesses, and retail in New York and beyond. To uplift the artistic community and bring a diverse, vibrant energy to the traditional holiday displays, Bombay Sapphire has commissioned these visionaries from diverse fields to transform otherwise empty storefronts into veritable ‘windows of art’.
The backdrop of each window features a winter dreamscape by artist Shavanté Royster, which also graces the label of the Bombay Sapphire new Limited Edition Gift Pack.
Lighting up SoHo during December, the windows will feature live models clad in Romeo’s winter apparel against Shavanté’s contemporary picturesque snowy backdrop, along with performances by New York City dancers and local bar-hopping experiences. Romeo Hunte’s dedicated window will feature people clad in two bespoke designs that he created exclusively for the space, depicting them getting ready for a holiday show over cocktails.
Featuring Romeo’s playful sensibility, the garments were inspired by Shavanté’s depiction with the colour of the jumpsuit playing off the yellow snowboards, sun and hot air balloons and the billows of the garment responding to the ski slopes. His New York edge is showcased in the jacket and pants look, mashing up tailored, preppy and street styles that tie into Shavanté’s BOMBAY SAPPHIRE-inspired blue colour scape.
The locations of the windows are as follows:
- Fashion Window: 423 Broadway / New York, NY 10013
- Art Window: 65 Spring Street / New York, NY 10012
- Dance Window: 25 Howard Street / New York, NY 10013
“We are thrilled this partnership can ignite inspiration and hero the arts community for the holiday season,” says Jaime Keller, Brand Director Bombay Sapphire North America. “Bombay Sapphire has served as the perfect canvas for creativity, both in cocktails and more broadly. This has been part of our brand DNA for the past three decades, so we are excited to launch this initiative to provide a literal stage for underrepresented and emerging talents and celebrate a creative resurgence overall.”
Each window brings a different dimension to Shavanté Royster’s artistic backdrop, serving as a space for live entertainment and consumer education. These window displays not only spotlight diverse creative art forms but is designed to bring foot traffic to the respective businesses around downtown New York for the holidays.
“It’s been a joy to work on Bombay Sapphire’s Holiday Storefront Series,” said Romeo Hunte. “It was cool to build and see the narrative of the holiday windows come to life with them through different facets, such as the dancers wearing some of my designs. I hope everyone can leave the windows feeling a burst of creativity and inspiration for the holidays, and hope for the year ahead.”
The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a cocktail in hand, so Bombay Sapphire has partnered with neighbouring bars to serve festive holiday cocktails designed by the creatives for window viewers to continue the merriment and celebrate the holidays.
COCKTAIL RECIPES
Romeo Hunte’s What’s Good
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire
- 3 oz Ginger Beer
- 2 oz Cranberry Juice
Instructions
Build ingredients in your favourite balloon glass or collins glass and garnish with a lime wedge.
Shavanté Royster’s Winter Daydream
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire
- .5 oz St Germain
- .5 oz Lime Juice
- 5 oz Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic
Instructions
Build in a balloon glass and garnish with a ribbon of cucumber.
For more information on Bombay Sapphire’s holiday gift pack, go to reservebar.com
